Awesome Assam

Awesome Assam to Awesome India..

It is the roads and infrastructure that make a country prosperous. It is not that a country has better roads and infrastructure due to development, prosperity. It is the other way round. Way to prosperity goes through the infrastructure development. Whoever may have made this statement, it is apt and precise to explain the way to develop, grow. There are ample examples where a country developed at rapid rate because they emphasized on infrastructural development. The 'New Deal' proposed and implemented by FDR during the Great Depression. The infrastructural development, especially roads during that period laid the foundations of rapid growth and way to becoming Super Power for USA. Another, bit unusual example could be Germany under Hitler's rule. He emphasized the infrastructural development. Though his intentions and motives were strategic and tactical but the fact remains that it not just helped Nazi Germany to grow faster, move armies faster but also paved the way for raid recovery in the aftermath of World War. After roaming around the World history, What about India?

Major part of India was either under direct British rule or under British paramountcy in Princely States. British laid the foundations of various infrastructure and Communication facilities in India. Railways, Better roads and post-Telegraph etc. Let us take example of Railways. British left India in 1947 with oddly 61000 Kms of Rail lines across India. Since 1947 India could complete a green field Rail project within or should we say before time is Konkan railway. What and where did India gone wrong? It did not emphasize the infrastructure development or upgradation. What were the causes? The socialistic mindset? Answer could be yes. Did the executive since the Independence until recently could not vision the great opportunity of employment generation in Tourism? Again answer is yes. Now what has changed? 

A small scale study, analysis at my level. When the state's I India emphasized the infrastructure development at state level, they could grab the opportunity to develop the tourism in state. Some decisive examples could be Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Himachal and now Assam..

Till 2000-01 Gujarat with ample tourism destinations with potential could not grab the opportunity. Lack of infrastructure, political, social stability were the major hurdles. Since 2001, infrastructural development, executive vision and brilliant advertisement campaign with legendary actor Amitabh (कुछ दिन तो गुजारो गुजरात में..)  came hand in hand. Same with Madhya Pradesh. Infrastructural development, executive vision and brilliant advertisement (The Bioscope Ad film- हिंदुस्थान का दिल देखो. They build the executive set up of tourism department in various states. Same with Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal, Uttarakhand and now Assam.

Assam has been dealing with multiple insurgencies, problem of illegal immigration since decades coupled with slow pace of infrastructural development. But in recent years emphasize of infrastructural development, security and executive vision resulting in encashing the tourism potential with brilliant advertisement campaign of 'Awesome Assam' with actress Priyanka Chopra. Until last decade no one could have imagined large hoardings of Assam state tourism Department on the streets of Pune and other major cities. There was time where people in 'Rest of India' didn't even recognize that there is 'India' beyond Darjeeling. It is the good sign that infrastructural development is not just benefitting the tourism but also connecting India. With Awesome Assam, it'll result into 'Awesome India'....

Pulwama: A Different Take

CRPF Attack: A different take

 January 1971. Tensions between India and erstwhile Pakistan (including east Pakistan) were rising. oppression of people living in East Pakistan was rising to go on its peak. West Pakistani in general and Punjabi in particular did not want to be ruled by Bangla speaking person who got elected with thumping majority in National elections. India from day one was supporting Bangla speaking people's call for the separate nation. intelligence inputs were confirming that Pakistan is preparing for war. It offered momentum for India to build her case. The Ganga hijack case offered the opportunity. Ganga. an Indian Airlines aircraft, flown to Jammu from Srinagar hijacked by two terrorists of National Liberation Front (Which eventually transformed into Jammu & Kashmir liberation liberation front). plane landed in Lahore. demanding release of 36 NLF terrorists. The drama ended up in blowing up the plane after releasing the hostages. India retaliated with not just crackdown upon NlF militants but also banning Pakistani airoplanes to fly through Indian airspace. It blew Pakistan's ability move troops to East Pakistan. Subsequently in March 1971 East Pakistan called for independence by declaring independent nation of Bangladesh. India immediately recognised the independent nation. Then till November 1971 a brutal genocide took place in Bangladesh. India played a major role in building Mukti bahini, a guerrilla force of Bangla youth. Then bombing on Amritsar and Ludhiana in Punjab by Pakistan air force offered a trigger. 3rd December 1971. Indian army entered Bangladesh to liberate. The decisive war took place between all the three forces. A masterpiece of strategic mobility and warfare. shortest war ended up in complete surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka. 

31st August 1999 major blast in a shopping mall in Moscow. Another major blast in Chechnya. A building got destroyed  and claimed 64 lives. 8th September 1999, elite residential area in Moscow. A blast took place and claimed 100 lives and several wounded. 16th September Volgodonsk city, south of Moscow, a truck blew up and claimed 19 lives. A chain of similar incidents went on. In first week of August Vladimir Putin had been sworn in as Prime Minister of Russia. He claimed that all these blasts, terrorist activities have been carried out by Chechen militants. They need to be crushed. Eventually Putin waged a war against Chechen militants ending up in destroying Chechen province of Russia. 

what is the significance of these incidences? what is the similarity? After thorough investigations or self declarations it turned out these incidences were plotted by their own intelligence agencies of these respective countries. Ganga hijack. It was RAW who plotted the hijack. the two militants who hijacked the plane were already in custody of security agencies of India. India needed a reason to block the Pakistani air traffic. So the plane landed in Lahore as planned. India claimed the hijack was supported by Pakistan. And now rest is History. similarly in Russia. The FSB plotted all those bomb blasts. They created such situations where they could put all the blame on Chechen militants. They did and, now rest is history. What is the difference? Operation Ganga did not claim any Indian civilian's life. 

What about attack on those CRPF men? Is current government or should we say intelligence agencies are so brutal that they would claim soldier's lives for such game? I don't think so. I don't want to think so. But the thing is I can't neglect the thought also. All the other evidences or media reports suggest that it was an attack carried out by Jaish E Mohammad. They immediately claimed responsibility and released the video and photograph of suicide bomber. Still the question remains how and why more than double CRPF troops were travelling than usual? Was there flaw in intelligence inputs as to threat of such attack? Did CRPF men ignored the precise intelligence inputs? well, after looking at a document, which says 'please sanitize the roads before moving..' lack of necessary precaution resulted in this brutal tragedy? Answer may be, yes. Because similar incident took place in Bastar. Where 25 CRPF men lost their lives due to lack of precaution and non following the Standard of Procedure before moving. 

What is the answer? There is a general sentiment among people to retaliate with waging  a war agaisnt Pakistan. well, considering the replies from Pakistan side it seems they are expecting another Surgical strike like operation. They must be prepared. Here, I would like to quote former Defense Minister Yashvantrao Chavhan during 1965 war, he said, "If they think we would retaliate the attack in Akhnur (in Kashmir) by attacking in Akhnur they are in fools paradise. We would choose the time and place of attack as per taking into consideration our advantage." Similar statement was issued before the Surgical strikes. As per latest report (before finishing this write up..) India considering withdrawing the Most Favored Nation given to Pakistan. People were talking about repealing the Indus Water Treaty before Surgical Strikes........